The fifth and, for the moment, last in the series of noir novels featuring Inspector Mascarell. December 1949, a small-time thief comes to the inspector asking for help to get him safely out of a monumental mess: he has stolen the briefcase of a supposedly English tourist who has just been murdered. Now they're after him. What is in the briefcase? Nothing less than catalogues of paintings stolen by the Nazis before and during World War II. The murdered man was in Barcelona on the trail of a former Nazi officer who wanted to sell loot worth killing for. So Inspector Mascarell becomes involved in an international plot where many interests are at stake, he attempts to recover the stolen works of art and survive the Fascist police and the ruins of global conflict. A novel with a vivid historical setting, and addictive plot and memorable characters.